The EU has flexed its regulatory muscles under the new Digital Markets Act (DMA), imposing hefty fines on Apple and Meta for non-compliance. In its first enforcement actions of this kind, the Commission levied a €500 million fine against Apple and a €200 million fine against Meta.
The EU Commission found Apple breached its obligations regarding “anti-steering” practices within its App Store, while Meta was found to have failed to provide users with adequate choice concerning the use of their personal data under its previous “consent or pay” model.
Teresa Ribera, Executive VP for Clean, Just, and Competitive Transition, said: “Today’s decisions send a strong and clear message. The Digital Markets Act is a crucial instrument to unlock potential, choice, and growth by ensuring digital players can operate in contestable and fair markets. It protects European consumers and levels the playing field.
“Apple and Meta have fallen short of compliance with the DMA by implementing measures that reinforce the dependence of business users and consumers on their platforms. As a result, we have taken firm but balanced enforcement action against both companies, based on clear and predictable rules. All companies operating in the EU must follow our laws and respect European values.”
Apple App Store steering restrictions deemed non-compliant with the EU DMA
Under the DMA framework, developers using Apple’s App Store must be permitted to inform their customers about alternative purchasing options outside the App Store ecosystem, free of charge. This includes steering users towards these external offers and other app distribution channels.
However, the Commission concluded that Apple has failed to meet this requirement. According to the findings, “Due to a number of restrictions imposed by Apple, app developers cannot fully benefit from the advantages of alternative distribution channels outside the App Store.”
Consequently, the Commission argues, “consumers cannot fully benefit from alternative and cheaper offers as Apple prevents app developers from directly informing consumers of such offers.” Apple reportedly did not successfully demonstrate that the restrictions it imposes are “objectively necessary and proportionate.”
Reacting swiftly to the decision, Epic Games – a long-term critic of Apple’s practices that has engaged in global legal battles with the company – stated: “Apple is breaking the law by imposing illegal fees, scare screens, and restrictions on purchases made outside the App Store.”
Epic Games further described Apple’s behaviour as a “pattern of malicious compliance.” The game developer also highlighted related concerns, referencing separate, preliminary findings announced by the Commission that suggest Apple’s broader restrictions on alternative app distribution methods, including its controversial Core Technology Fee (CTF), may also violate the DMA.
According to Epic, “Apple intentionally evaded the DMA by making distribution on alternative stores unviable for developers and their lengthy and misleading third party store install process deters most consumers.”
For genuine compliance, Epic Games argues Apple must take several specific steps. These include ending practices developers see as deterrents, such as requiring Apple to “eliminate restrictions on the language, style and flow that developers can use to link to their website or to access an alternative payment system.”
In Epic’s view, this means “Apple must end the scare screens they pop up.” Epic also insists Apple “must not charge any fees on purchases that are made outside of an app” and should not be allowed to “track, surveil, or require developers to send Apple data about purchases that consumers make outside apps.”
As a result of the formal non-compliance finding on anti-steering, the European Commission has ordered Apple to dismantle the identified technical and commercial restrictions preventing developers from steering users. Furthermore, Apple must “refrain from perpetuating the non-compliant conduct in the future,” which includes avoiding any similar measures that achieve the same restrictive effect.
The €500 million penalty reflects the Commission’s view on the “gravity and duration of the non-compliance.”
Interestingly, the announcement also noted that a separate investigation into Apple’s compliance with DMA user choice obligations has been closed. This closure was attributed to “early and proactive engagement by Apple on a compliance solution.”
Meta ‘Consent or Pay’ model breaks EU DMA rules
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, faced scrutiny under the DMA over its approach to user consent for data combination used in personalised advertising.
The DMA mandates that gatekeepers like Meta must obtain user consent to combine personal data across different services. Importantly, users who withhold consent must be offered a less personalised but equivalent alternative service.
In November 2023, Meta rolled out a binary “Consent or Pay” model across the EU. Users were faced with a stark choice: either consent to their data being combined for targeted ads or pay a monthly subscription fee for an ad-free experience on Facebook and Instagram.
The Commission found this model non-compliant with the DMA. Its assessment concluded that the model “did not give users the required specific choice to opt for a service that uses less of their personal data but is otherwise equivalent to the ‘personalised ads’ service.”
Additionally, the regulator found that Meta’s approach “did not allow users to exercise their right to freely consent to the combination of their personal data.”
While Meta introduced a revised advertising model in November 2024, offering a new free option purported to use less personal data, the Commission is still analysing this alternative.
Today’s non-compliance decision and the €200 million fine specifically address the period between March 2024 (when DMA obligations became binding) and November 2024, during which only the binary “Consent or Pay” option was available to EU users.
First strikes under the DMA, but unlikely to be the last
These penalties mark a significant milestone as the first non-compliance decisions issued under the DMA, which aims to ensure fairer and more contestable digital markets within the EU.
Epic Games, in its reaction, broadened its criticism beyond Apple, stating, “Google is just as bad.” The developer pointed to recent preliminary findings from the European Commission suggesting that Google is also potentially violating the DMA’s anti-steering rules for its own app marketplace.
Seizing upon the EU’s firm stance, Epic Games argued these actions “make it all the more urgent that other policymakers in the UK, Japan, Brazil continue to hold Apple and Google accountable.”
The company noted that legislative efforts – such as those initiated in the US – aim to address similar “anti-competitive practices that suppress free speech and choice, raise prices, and block innovation,” urging policymakers worldwide to “follow through.”
Both Apple and Meta had the opportunity to review the Commission’s evidence and respond to the preliminary findings related to today’s decisions. The DMA empowers the Commission to issue fines of up to 10% of a company’s total global annual turnover for breaches.
Henna Virkkunen, Executive VP for Tech Sovereignty, Security, and Democracy, commented: “Enabling free business and consumer choice is at the core of the rules laid down in the Digital Markets Act. This includes ensuring that citizens have full control over when and how their data is used online, and businesses can freely communicate with their own customers.
“The decisions adopted today find that both Apple and Meta have taken away this free choice from their users and are required to change their behaviour. We have a duty to protect the rights of citizens and innovative businesses in Europe and I am fully committed to this objective.”
Apple and Meta now have 60 days to comply fully with the Commission’s decisions. Failure to do so could expose them to further periodic penalty payments. The Commission has indicated it will continue engaging with both companies to ensure ongoing compliance.
(Photo by Ivan Pergasi)
See also: Google found guilty of ad tech monopoly in antitrust case
Looking to revamp your digital transformation strategy? Learn more about Digital Transformation Week taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. The comprehensive event is co-located with IoT Tech Expo, AI & Big Data Expo, Cyber Security & Cloud Expo, and other leading events.
Explore other upcoming enterprise technology events and webinars powered by TechForge here.
